Hope everyone had a great holidays and have gotten back into the swing of things. We had our club meeting this past Saturday and it was a great success. As usual Eric did not stop eating and Mark had a dessert with ice cream.

We have swapped from text message to Facebook message now. We have grown to point that text message is no longer adequate. We can send emails to those that would prefer over text message and do not have Facebook.

Below are the planned events for the year outside of the random hangout.

Please see Eric for the poll to vote for the events you are interested in. Any of the events can become overnight/weekend or vice versa. Your responses are needed no later than March 11th!
Big Events:
Camarofest (location and date is unknown)
Super Chevy Show (April 8-10 at Memphis Raceway. Probably just go that Saturday on the 9th)
Super Camarofest (June 30- July 3 at Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, Michigan)
LS Fest (Sept. 9 – 11 at Bowling Green, KY)

One day Events:
Tupelo Museum (Bluff City Mustang may join us)
Bluff City Shootout – Bluff City Mustang vs Bluff City Camaro at Memphis Raceway. (possible twice a year)
Shiloh (with Music City again or by ourselves?)
Reelfoot
Trip to Boomtown, MO with Bluff City Mustang then BBQ for 4th of July with them.

Overnight or Weekend Events:
Tail of the Dragon/ Lost Sea Caverns (possibly do this with Music City depending on schedule)
Biloxi (Cruisin’ the Coast – October 2 – 9)
Nashville and meet Music City
Mammoth Caves/ Corvette Museum
Woodward Dream Cruise (August 20)

Car’s and Coffee (2115 Exeter Rd Germantown, TN 38138) happens the 4th Saturday of every month. Runs 8am till 11am. Not sure if the final one for this year is in October or November.

Super Cruise (Highway 51 and Stateline Rd in Southaven). Happens the last Sunday of every month. The last one for this year is October 25th. Runs 4pm till

Please contact Eric if you have any questions about these Cruise In’s.

CamaroFest 2015:We had a blast driving up with H-Town Camaro Club. Was nice meeting Al Oppenheiser, getting him to sign our cars, and see him being more than just a GM guy. We had a mishap with local mustang group trying to crash our party, but that was quickly taken care of. Bowling Green was a great choice and hope it comes back there one day.

Bluff City Shootout:Those that attended had a blast. Midnight Madness at MIR was crazy busy, but we were still able to get runs in and enjoy ourselves. They won again this year, but they better watch out. We have a few cars that are going under the wrench between then and next year’s event.

Walking Dead Party:We’re having a Walking Dead watching party at Cooley and Bar’s house on Oct. 11th. It’s on a Sunday evening, it isn’t a costume party, but you are welcome to dress up if you like. The cats will be hiding in another room. If you are interested, please contact Cooley for more info.

Tail of the Dragon Run:Tail of the Dragon Run. There is a group organizing a run on Oct. 17th. The info is on the FB page. If you are interested, contact Eric for details.

Lambert’s Trip: Eric is organizing this. The date is November 14th. Please contact Eric or Cooley to verify if you can make it with how many cars and people.

Bluff City Camaro/ Mustangs Cruise:
We are working on something soon. Will update in a separate post when something is concrete.

Club Christmas Party:We’re looking at maybe having a Christmas party at Bobby’s house this year. Will update in a separate post when something is concrete.

Christmas City Cruise: We discussed having a cruise through Christmas City to see the lights and decorations. We haven’t set a date yet. Get with Eric, Adam, or Cooley with dates you can make it.

If you are on the fence about coming to an event, jump off that fence and come along! We are always needing more friends and family!! As you know, we aren’t a strict club, we’re a bunch of Chevy people who just like doing things together and being friends.

DETROIT – After 350 hours of wind tunnel testing – often 24 hours a day – the new Camaro will slip more easily through the wind, and drivers of the Camaro SS will experience a marked improvement in reduced aerodynamic lift.

These changes illustrate the lengths the aerodynamics team went to for improved performance, stability, cooling and lower wind noise intrusion

“The importance of aerodynamics increases exponentially as we increase vehicle performance,” said Kirk Bennion, Exterior Design manager. “As engine output increases, we need more engine cooling. As acceleration and top speeds climb, we need to reduce lift for better high-speed stability. However, we cannot make any changes at the expense of increasing drag, which can hurt fuel economy.

“To balance these different aerodynamic targets, we tested literally hundreds of changes on the new Camaro, millimeters at a time.”

For example, the initial design called for the lower grille bars to be set at a 20-degree angle to the horizon. However, after meticulous testing, the team improved engine-cooling airflow by 1 percent by shifting the angle to 13 degrees – a change that achieved the airflow target while maintaining the original grille design.

And rather than a traditional front air dam to reduce aerodynamic lift, the team developed a flush belly pan that stretches from the front grille to the center of the vehicle. Paired with small “spats” forward of the front tires, the smooth underbody helps reduce total lift by 30 percent – while also reducing aerodynamic drag.

Chevrolet will introduce the all-new, 2016 Camaro on Saturday, May 16, during a special public event at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT – For the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, the design team set out to create a leaner, more athletic design that complemented the new driving experience.

“The Camaro went to the gym and came out with a lithe, more athletic physique for the sixth generation,” said Ed Welburn, vice president, GM Global Design. “It’s a more expressive evolution of the Camaro’s iconic character – and one that complements its leaner size and sharper reflexes.”

The exterior design vocabulary is defined by complex shapes, which appear to be form-fitted around the mechanical components. Every shape and surface detail is a skilled, artistic collaboration of hand and digital sculpting.

Camaro’s new design details draw the eye into the design. For example, the new aluminum hood features powerful, smoothly curved sculpted forms accented with sharp creases. As a result, the hood appears to be shrink-wrapped around the engine.

Similarly, the new Camaro retains the broad, dramatic rear fenders that became a defining feature of the award-winning Gen 5 Camaro. The design is updated with greater detailing, including a subtle crease running parallel to the fender edge. The effect makes the new Camaro look even lower and wider despite having a slightly smaller footprint than its predecessor.

Chevrolet will introduce the all-new, 2016 Camaro on Saturday, May 16, during a special public event at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT – New technologies in the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro will enable drivers to tailor the car to the moment, whether it’s heading to work, touring the Pacific Coast Highway or lapping a road course.

“We wanted to build on the flexibility of the current Camaro ZL1, which is great for grand touring, commuting, the drag strip and track days,” said Aaron Link, Camaro lead development engineer. “The new Camaro will be even more adaptable, with up to eight vehicle attributes adjusted to fit a driver’s preference.”

As a result, the all-new Camaro will set the technological benchmark for the segment.

Most of the features can be changed via the new Drive Mode Selector, which includes Snow/Ice, Tour, Sport and – on SS models – Track settings. Calibrations for throttle progression, steering, stability control and more are optimized for each setting.

For the first time the Camaro SS will be available with Magnetic Ride Control, previously available only on the Camaro ZL1. The active damping system offers three preset programs – Tour, Sport and Track – that adjust the ride and handling balance. From there, it reads road and driver inputs at 1,000 times per second, and automatically adjusts the dampers for optimal performance.

Additionally, there is an enhanced dual-mode exhaust system. New electronically controlled valves can bypass the mufflers under spirited acceleration, delivering improved performance and greater sound levels. It also offers personalization options, from a “stealth” mode to a more aggressive “track” mode.

Chevrolet will introduce the all-new, 2016 Camaro on Saturday, May 16, during a special public event at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

It’s no secret we’re approaching a crossroads in automobiles. Electric vehicles are becoming more commonplace, and sometimes those same batteries are producing extra performance in the greenest way possible.

EcoCAR3 tasks 16 colleges across the United States and Canada to apply their engineering and design skills to the latest and greatest 2016 Camaro. The challenge is simple, yet quite complex: redesign the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro to reduce its environmental impact, while maintaining the muscle and performance expected from this iconic American car.

Seems like an oxymoronic situation, no?

Not to the bright minds accepting the challenge across North America. They’re ready to apply all they’ve learned in their academic careers thus far to enhance the 2016 Camaro, and in the process, reduce fuel consumption, tailpipe emissions, greenhouse gases and maintain customer demand for spirited driving performance.

“If we still want to produce V8 Camaros, we’re going to have to look at alternative methods of propulsion,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “So the ideas that these college teams come up with could very easily be adapted to a car like the Camaro.”

Oppenheiser isn’t the only one praising the program either. Private, government and fellow GM organizations applaud the program to move American innovation forward. Over 15 other sponsors have joined in to provide technical support, materials and software to ensure success of those participating.

The program began this time last year, but with the announcement of the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro as the donor vehicle, teams will be ready to begin their work. The four year program will conclude in the Summer of 2018, where one team will be crowned the most innovative victor.

You never know, maybe your local university may have the next greatest idea to change the way we think of V8 performance.

DETROIT – The engineering team spent 9 million hours of computational time honing the driving experience of the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro before the first prototype turned a wheel. The structural modeling led to the Gen 6 Camaro being 28 percent stiffer than the current model.

“The modeling abilities of computer aided engineering are advancing at incredible rates,” said Jim Karlavage, Camaro program engineering manager. “Today, we can accurately model opportunities to add torsional strength without adding unnecessary mass. The result is a lighter, stiffer structure that benefits every aspect of the driving experience.”

The more rigid body structure allowed the engineers to more precisely calibrate the steering and suspension systems because they didn’t have to compensate for chassis flex. The lighter structure also enabled the size and mass of elements such as the wheels, tires and brakes to be scaled accordingly.

“The structural weight savings are compounded by opportunities to reduce un-sprung weight,” said Karlavage. “The result is a more nimble driving experience that rewards the driver with satisfying feelings of responsiveness and control.”

Chevrolet will introduce the all-new, 2016 Camaro on Saturday, May 16, during a special public event at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DETROIT – For the all-new, 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, the team was challenged to improve the handling, acceleration and fuel economy of the award-winning current model.

To meet all three objectives, the team focused on a singular mission: reduce mass. By obsessively searching for opportunities to save ounces, the team pared more than 200 pounds off the Camaro compared with the fifth-generation model.

As a result, the Camaro does more with less, according to Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer:

“We kept the cornering confidence and control that make the Gen 5 Camaro 1LE so fun to drive, and added a greater sense of agility,” he said. “The new Camaro brakes harder, flicks into corners more quickly, and drives out of the corner faster. We expect it will set the benchmark in the segment and give many sports cars a challenge.”

A new architecture, one of the most mass-efficient ever from General Motors, is responsible for much of the weight savings.

Additionally, dozens of small changes cumulatively contributed to shedding pounds. For example, the beam that supports the instrument panel is now made of aluminum, saving 9.7 pounds (4.4 kg) over the steel beam on the current generation Camaro.

In addition, the front and rear suspension assemblies are now aluminum, and links on some models feature an intricate, structurally optimized design made with a rigid composite material that’s even lighter than aluminum. As a result, the total weight for the suspension is 21 percent lighter compared to current steel-intensive assemblies.

Chevrolet will introduce the all-new 2016 Camaro on Saturday, May 16, during a special public event at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling around 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.